


To Remember: Colorado

by Starblade10 (epeeblade)



Series: To Remember [6]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Alternate Universe, Future Fic, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-21
Updated: 2009-11-21
Packaged: 2017-10-03 12:57:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/epeeblade/pseuds/Starblade10
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Trouble at Cheyenne Mountain brings SG-1 together again. But can they <br/>handle the mission in the aftermath of Jack and Daniel's revelation?</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Remember: Colorado

This wasn't good, Daniel thought absently, watching as the cover stone tumbled off its   
precarious perch and crushed his parents underneath. He averted his eyes at the last   
moment, still unable to watch the final few moments, unlike when this had first   
happened, when he was eight years old, and could not tear his eyes away in the shock of   
the moment.

The last time he had seen this, one of the earliest memories in his life, was when he and   
the rest of SG-1 had been trapped inside the machine on P7J-989, where their memories   
were replayed as amusement to the denizens of that planet. No matter how he tried,   
Daniel couldn't stop his parents from dying. Watching them die over and over again had   
brought the tragedy to the forefront of his mind again.

This time, this was different than what the Keeper had shown him. A boy stood in the   
center of the museum room, tears streaming down his face. "Mom? Dad?" he whispered,   
as if he knew they wouldn't be answering. Daniel realized he was looking at himself as a   
child and he stepped backwards in surprise.

"You could have changed things this time," a voice said from behind, and Daniel looked   
over his shoulder, half expecting to see the Keeper.

Instead the figure turned out to be a man, but every time Daniel tried to focus on his   
features, he couldn't make them out, almost as if the man was out of phase, or blurred   
into this reality. "I've learned my lesson," Daniel retorted, "We can't change the past."

The man raised a hand, "Oh, but what if I told you that this time you could have? That we   
have actually gone back in time?"

Frantically he tried to remember what Sam had told them, years ago, about time travel,   
how you couldn't go back and kill your own grandfather. He couldn't put it into words,   
so he just shook his head. "You can't change the past," he repeated.

"But I can, Dr. Jackson." The man smiled and since Daniel couldn't really see that face,   
that smile looked almost sinister.

No, this wasn't good at all, Daniel thought desperately.

***

Jack's intuition had once again proved correct. This was the most awkward briefing he   
had ever sat through. He and Sam had arrived together, though they didn't speak much on   
the military plane or in the car that had arrived to pick them both up. Then again, he   
wondered if they really had anything to say to each other at the moment.

Thoughts of his own screwed up life left him as soon as they caught sight of Cheyenne   
Mountain. It looked like a base camp was set up outside the structure, complete with   
trailers, tanks and tents. What the hell was going on here?

They were directed to a trailer where they met Colonel Davis and one Captain Jennifer   
Hailey. Jack had called her a four-foot-nine fighting machine and nothing had changed   
there. Otherwise she had tempered, matured, and though that spark of intelligence   
glittered in her eyes, she held herself with a careful bearing, not with that touch of   
insubordination that he remembered.

He was so glad she was there, so he didn't have to face Davis alone. As it was, the man   
was already glaring at him, those eerie gray-green eyes shooting daggers at him from   
across the tiny trailer room.

"We'll just need to wait for General Harris and Dr. Jackson, and then we can begin,"   
Davis said, finally turning away from Jack as he spoke.

Jack looked at Sam who just frowned at him and he sighed. Hailey looked at both of them   
quizzically, but didn't say anything.

Daniel stopped in the doorway, after the General had already preceded him to a seat. He   
met Jack's eyes and nodded slightly before entering the briefing trailer. He sat to the   
other side of Jack, across from Davis, Hailey and the General.

"So, why are we here?" Jack finally burst out, now that everyone was assembled. "And   
why are we /here/ here and not in the base?"

"That will become apparent, Colonel O'Neill, as soon as Captain Hailey begins her   
presentation," Davis said smoothly, obviously not letting anything get in the way of his   
work. "I'd like to first introduce you to General Harris, who has been assigned here with   
the science teams."

Right, the SGC had gone all geek on them. No more off world missions, but the gate was   
active for contact with various allies and for some experimentation. And as far as he   
knew, the Alpha site was still being maintained. However, things were a lot quieter now   
that they had been ten years ago when the Goa'uld had control of the galaxy.

Harris smiled at them. "It is my pleasure to finally meet SG-1."

"Well, three-fourths of SG-1," Daniel interjected. Jack couldn't help but agree. He   
missed Teal'c by their side, especially now with everyone else assembled here. It felt   
wrong not to have the big man seated across from Davis with them.

Harris inclined his head in acknowledgment. "I'm sorry to have so abruptly called you   
away from your lives, but Captain Hailey believes you are the best hope we have of   
solving this problem."

"Why us?" Sam asked, "None of us has been involved with the program for years."

Hailey stood up and moved over to the portable projector. "I'll have to explain what   
exactly has been going on these past few weeks." She moved away and stood off to the   
side of the screen.

"Exactly thirty-six days ago, we received an incoming wormhole." She clicked   
something in her hand, and the picture appeared on screen.

The gate room coalesced into being, the images of the Stargate center stage. Chevrons   
locked into place and the event horizon blasted into existence. Normal procedure had the   
iris closing over the swirling wormhole. Then, for a moment, the iris shimmered and   
disappeared. A few moments later, it reappeared.

Jack raised an eyebrow at that, and snuck a glance at Sam, whose attention was rapt on   
the screen. "What exactly was that?"

"We don't know," Hailey said smoothly, stopping the video feed with another click of   
her hand. "The mountain was locked down for 48 hours - standard procedure when   
dealing with an unprotected wormhole. However, nothing seemed to result from it, until a   
few days later."

"What happened then?" Daniel piped up. "Was it something like the Retu?"

She shook her head. "Not exactly, Dr. Jackson. We never found evidence of an alien   
incursion. What did happen is that the SGC began to experience strange shifts in time and   
space."

"What the hell does that mean?"

She gestured, trying to explain, "Quite simply, you could walk through a door and be in   
the same room, only in another time. Three days after the distortions began, I walked into   
the commissary and saw the three of you eating at a table."

"I don't remember that." Jack waved one finger at her.

"Because it happened over ten years ago, Colonel, for you. The time shifts got worse, and   
we began to lose several levels to various time periods. Then we started experiencing   
shifting in space."

Sam gasped. "Space?"

"Walking out of the Gate Room and suddenly ending up on the 23rd floor. That was how   
it started. Then, you could walk out of the locker room and into the parking lot of the   
local supermarket."

"Is that even possible?" Daniel again, as he reached up and touched the bridge of his   
nose.

"You think the Stargate is causing this?" Sam broke in. "That it's generating some kind   
of energy that would cause distortions in the space/time field?"

"We've run every single test we could think of on it, but couldn't find a damn thing,"   
Hailey said, tossing her little projection remote onto the table. "And we would still be   
down there, until we had to evacuate. We've lost at least 10 people."

"Lost them how?" Jack asked for clarification.

"We have no idea what's happened to them. For all we know, they could have been   
dropped into the Middle Ages, or merged into the solid rock of the mountain."

"Ouch."

Sam was looking thoughtful, "That effect with the iris, it looked for a moment like the   
displacement in time was centered around the Stargate. Do you remember," and here she   
turned to Jack and Daniel, "when we went back in time? For a moment we were   
simultaneously straddling two time areas?"

"1969," Jack commented. "Good year."

"But, Sam, when we went back in time, we were still in the mountain. Granted, it was a   
missile testing facility then, but we didn't go anywhere."

"Which is why this claim of space distortion is so interesting." Sam frowned. "I'd like to   
see the results of those tests you performed."

"Of course."

"Is the effect spreading?" Daniel asked.

"You mean outside of the mountain?" General Harris answered, "Not yet, but that is our   
biggest fear. And the reason the three of you were contacted."

Jack waved his hand again. "Sam, I understand, she gets all this physics stuff. But why   
me and Daniel?"

"Because SG-1 has always been called up when the SGC is in trouble," Harris managed   
to say with a straight face.

Jack found himself liking the man. "There's more, isn't there?"

Davis opened up a folder and spoke for the first time since the beginning of the briefing.   
"The time distortions all seem to involve SG-1 missions of some sort, as do the space   
distortions. The supermarket, for example, was the one outside your old apartment   
complex, Daniel, when you lived here." He briefly glanced up at Daniel, then looked   
away.

"So it's like someone sending us a subtle message." Jack frowned. "A little too subtle."

***

Sam watched while trying not to look like she was watching. Daniel and Jack had their   
heads bowed over the paperwork Daniel had requested, trying to figure out if there was   
any pattern with the time/space shifting. She, meanwhile, was supposedly going over the   
data Hailey had gathered from the Stargate.

This was the first time she had turned from the columns of numbers to watch the man   
who was still her husband, and his lover. She was able to separate enough from current   
events to speak to both of them about the situation at the mountain. However, she wasn't   
too sure she was currently capable to relating to Daniel as a person. She could keep her   
emotions in check if she concentrated on the job they were trying to do. Just SG-1, back   
together again. Minus Teal'c.

She missed him, all of a sudden, her chest aching at the thought. Without Teal'c, they   
weren't really SG-1. They were just playing at this, pretending for General Harris and   
Captain Hailey, and everyone else camped out here. They hadn't been SG-1 for a long   
time now.

She wondered if Jack realized this, her eyes on him as she rested her chin on her fist.   
They couldn't go back to being what they were. No matter how intense his friendship had   
been with Daniel, she couldn't imagine it being enough to translate into an affair. Janet's   
words of wisdom echoed in her mind, and part of her wanted to dismiss this as a simple   
mid-life crisis.

She, Jack and the kids were a family. What right had Daniel to come in and screw that all   
up? She wanted to hate Daniel, and the anger rose up until she was gripping her fist so   
hard she was cutting into her palm.

"Hey!" Jack called, "I might have something here."

She nearly stumbled off of the stool before she caught herself. "What?" she asked,   
wincing at the bitterness in her own voice as she made her way to the table on the other   
side of the trailer.

Daniel looked up at her, and she wasn't sure what she saw in his eyes. Truthfully she   
didn't care. They had a job to do, and she was determined to get through this as   
professionally as possible. Any impropriety would not be on her part.

"This photo from one of the time/space shifties." Jack pointed. "It's not from an SG-1   
mission."

She lifted up the photo, which showed one of the containment rooms, where a tall cream-  
colored vase was placed behind glass. It was difficult to see in the photo, but it looked to   
be emitting some sort of light. "I don't recognize this, but we went on a lot of missions,   
Jack."

Daniel peeked over her shoulder, "Oh, that thing."

"What thing?" Jack asked.

"I was with SG-11," Daniel held out his hand and Sam dropped the photograph into it.   
"Do they have any video of this? It was the vase that caused Major Covis to break in out   
hives, and we finally had to quarantine the thing."

"Where were we?"

Daniel waggled his fingers. "Tinkerbell."

"Tinkerbell?" Sam asked, switching her gaze between Jack and Daniel's face.

Jack half-winced, then answered, "Planet with the sparkly fairy type things. Hell of a   
sting."

Ah, that planet. "Is this the only shift in time that doesn't involve SG-1?"

Jack shrugged. "What we've gone through so far, yeah."

"But it does," Daniel broke in. "It involved me."

"But not while you were with SG-1," Sam argued.

"Lots of the shifts involved part of the team," he countered, "The one by my supermarket,   
for example or when Teal'c and I…"

"Exactly," Sam turned to the computer on the counter. "Just you Daniel. Can we get the   
video feed on these files?"

She opened up the files and began scanning the filenames. There was a lot of video taken,   
though not everything had been captured. That's why they had to piece this together,   
based on live reports in addition to what had been fortunately filmed.

Daniel spoke softly behind her. "You think it's me?"

Sam paused in mid-click, not sure how exactly to answer him. "I'm just looking for clues   
here," she reminded him, though she didn't turn around, "and I'm not seeing anything in   
the data files."

She found the video file and called it up. Jack approached her on one side to get a closer   
look and she had to close her eyes for a moment. Enough, she thought to herself, think of   
the mission.

The video began to run, but it wasn't much. The normal storeroom faded away with that   
same ripple effect, boxes and crates melting into the image of that encased vase. Light   
did emerge from the vase and traced some odd pattern on the wall, before it all faded   
away back into the ordinary storeroom.

"Can you rewind that a bit," Daniel asked, whirling his finger at the screen.

She tapped some keys. "What did you see?"

"I'm not sure, but I think it's a message."

"What?" Jack asked.

He shrugged. "For a moment there, when the light hit the wall…I swear it looked like a   
pattern I'm familiar with. Sam, can you freeze it right there?" He put one hand on her   
shoulder and she had to fight not to shrug him off. "It's definitely glyphs of some sort and   
I'm certain it wasn't there in the past."

"You think you can figure out what it says?" Jack asked curiously.

Daniel lifted his hand from Sam's shoulder and turned to give Jack a look. "I'm not that   
out of practice. I'd like to check some references first."

"You can get into the network from here." She twisted out of the seat. "It should enable   
you to access all your books if they're in the database, and they should be."

"I know, you made sure of that," Daniel said.

She flushed and turned away. It had been a project she started over ten years ago, when   
they were still deciding what to do with the Stargate program now that the Goa'uld were   
no more. She and Daniel had put together a one-stop shopping sort of library for   
archaeologists and linguists attached to the project. It had been a lot of work, and a bit of   
fun, working with Daniel like that.

"Anyway, I need to keep reviewing this data, I'll just set you up over here, Daniel…"

"I gotta talk to the General," Jack decided. "Let me know when you find anything!"

Daniel shook his head, "Just like old times, huh?"

"Not really," she murmured, tapping the keys to put the video on this computer, so she   
could go back to her own research.

"Sam…"

"There you go, Daniel, it's all ready for you." She turned away and he touched her   
shoulder again.

"Sam, I'm sorry…"

She gently pulled away from him. "So am I, Daniel. Now, please excuse me. I have data   
to review."

Sam was aware of Daniel's eyes on her, but ignored him. Eventually, he looked to his   
own work.

***

"What we're dealing with here is some kind of infinity loop," Sam stepped away from the   
screen, presenting her findings to the original group, including General Harris, Captain   
Hailey, and Colonel Davis. "It's similar to what happened with SG-1 encountered the   
time loop phenomena on P4X-639."

"Do you think the device on P4X-639 was somehow activated?" Hailey asked, gesturing   
with her pencil.

"I'm not sure," Sam moved to take her seat. "I think the best course of action would be to   
take a team back into the SGC. That way I can determine what exactly is going on first   
hand."

Colonel Davis looked put out and exchanged a look with the General. "Are you sure   
that's wise, Dr. Carter? We've already lost several personnel."

"And you'll lose more people if the effect is allowed to spread," she snapped back.

"I think Sam's right," Daniel spoke up, to her surprise.

All eyes turned to him. "Um, I was able to compare the video feed from a few weeks ago,   
to the video of the event as it actually happened about 12 years ago. The more recent feed   
contains glyphs that weren't there the first time around. The glyphs contained a   
message."

"What kind of message?" Davis asked.

Daniel wouldn't meet his eyes, she noticed.

"As far as I can tell, the words say, 'Welcome back SG-1.'"

Silence reigned around the table. Sam finally leaned forward. "So something, some alien   
being is causing the time shifts. It's bait."

"For us." Jack finally spoke up. "General Harris, sir, I think it's time we gave 'em what   
they want, don't you think?"

The General frowned at him. "I don't think the wisest course of action would be sending   
you three in alone."

"But we have to be part of the team that goes in," Daniel argued.

Harris leveled his gaze directly at Jack, "I believe Colonel O'Neill is aware of the   
regulation that prevents married officers from serving on the same team?"

"No way am I letting Daniel and Sam go in there while I'm sitting out here twiddling my   
thumbs," Jack retorted, as angry as Sam had ever seen him. He colored slightly and she   
wondered why.

"Unless," Daniel raised his pencil, "you send in two separate teams. One with Jack on it,   
and the other with me and Sam. That way you won't be breaking any regulations. And all   
of SG-1 will be on the mission."

"Daniel, that's semantics," Davis argued.

"I thought the problem was a commander being forced to put someone he or she cares   
about in jeopardy. Neither of them will be in a place of command over the other," Daniel   
said.

"He's got a point," Harris said.

***

The gentle knock on his trailer door caught Daniel's attention and he left his post at his   
computer screen to open the door. He wasn't surprised to see Jack standing there; hands   
in his pockets, one eyebrow raised in expectation.

He stood aside to let Jack climb in before closing and locking the door. "Jack," he started   
to say as he was enveloped in a tight embrace. He let out a breath and tightened his own   
arms around Jack's lean back. "This isn't a good idea."

"Stop it Daniel," Jack whispered into his hair. "It's too late to change our minds."

"Jack…"

"Shh," Jack leaned down to capture Daniel's lips and he was lost. It had been far too long   
since he gotten to hold Jack, to feel this man around him.

Daniel gripped Jack's shoulders, digging his fingers into his sensitive back as he tried to   
get closer, pushing his hips against his lover's. "Jack," he said again, not in protest this   
time. He allowed Jack to push him back, until he hit the bed along one wall of the trailer.

Jack gently pushed him back, kneeling between his spread legs to mouth his erection   
though his pants. Daniel threw his head back, just allowing himself to feel. He gasped as   
Jack freed his cock, stroking it once or twice before touching his tongue to the head.   
"God!" Daniel groaned. It was still so hot for Jack to be doing this to him, still something   
of the forbidden in their touch.

God, Sam was probably only a few trailers away, they were in the middle of a military   
encampment and Jack was sucking his cock. He carded one hand through Jack's hair,   
guiding him, encouraging him to move faster, deeper. Right there, Daniel groaned,   
shuddering with the force of his orgasm.

Jack crawled up the bed and buried his face in Daniel's neck. Daniel got enough mobility   
back to turn and capture Jack's lips, wanting to taste himself there. He reached down and   
cupped Jack's hard prick. "What do you want, Jack?"

The other man moaned, "Like that, Daniel, just like that…"

He wondered if this would ever be old, if he would never be in awe that Jack O'Neill let   
him do this to his body, and touched Daniel's so sweetly in return. Daniel freed Jack's   
dick, felt the hardness throb against his hand as he skillfully jerked him off. Jack was so   
primed, so hard just from sucking Daniel.

Jack was writhing and moaning, and Daniel reached down to tug on his lover's balls,   
keeping up the rhythm on his cock at the same time. God he loved it when Jack moaned   
like that. Finally, Jack's entire body stiffened and he came with Daniel's name on his   
lips.

Daniel licked the salty fluid off his fingers, showing off slightly for Jack. Jack's hand   
snapped out, grasped his wrist and sucked his fingers into his own mouth. Daniel laughed   
softly.

Jack pulled away. "I can't stay."

"I know," Daniel said.

"They assigned me the same trailer as Sam…"

"That makes sense, since she /is/ your wife."

Jack turned back, brushing his fingers against Daniel's cheek. "I'll be sleeping on the   
floor when I get back there."

Relief flooded through Daniel. "You did tell her."

"Had to."

"What are we going to do, Jack?" he whispered.

Jack kissed him gently. "Tomorrow we're going to go and fix the Stargate. Then, then   
we'll see what happens."

He held onto Jack, wrapping his arms around him for one last hug for the night. Daniel   
couldn't explain it, but he felt off, as if something bad was about to happen. Of course, he   
had the stress of tomorrow hanging over their head, never mind what he was going to   
make of his own personal relationships.

***

Daniel pulled on the borrowed set of BDUs in the trailer they had designated the locker   
room. It felt oddly like coming home, though he been out of action for the past ten years.   
His life had been confined to teaching, crafting papers and dealing with stuffy colleagues   
at various conferences. Now, he felt as if he were coming alive again.

The door to the trailer slid open and he looked up to see who had entered.

He shouldn't have been surprised to see Paul standing there, holding his hat in one hand.   
"Daniel."

He stood, straightening his shirt self-consciously. This was it; this was the conversation   
he'd been avoiding since he got here. "Paul."

"I wanted to talk to you, before you went into the Mountain with Colonel Terrance…"   
Paul started. "I didn't want to leave things like this between us…"

Daniel grabbed his pack from the locker and began double-checking it. "What do you   
want me to say, Paul?" He looked up when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Daniel, can we be friends after this?"

He drew back, startled, "I can't believe you'd even ask that."

"I refuse to believe the last five years were for nothing."

He almost laughed at that. "You're the one who gave up on us."

"What? As I recall, you were the one who was unfaithful, for almost a year!"

Daniel let his pack fall and gestured wildly, "Yes, Paul. I cheated on you. I was wrong.   
I've never said I wasn't. But when I told you, you just gave up, you didn't even want to   
try to fix it."

"I gave you my heart," Paul said in a whisper. "I thought that was enough."

"I think what happened was for the best," Daniel said slowly, realizing this was true. "It   
was time for us to end, whether or not Jack was involved…"

"You're saying hindsight is twenty-twenty…"

The door to the trailer slammed open. "Daniel? What's the hold up? Colonel Terrance is   
waiting…" Jack bellowed before he stopped, coming face to face with Paul.

Of all the situations Daniel never wanted to have, it was this one: him facing down both   
Paul and Jack.

Jack nodded to Paul, "Majo…oh, Colonel Davis, sorry."

Paul just frowned at him. "You know, Colonel O'Neill, I don't think you are."

Daniel stepped up and put a hand on Paul's shoulder. "Paul, don't, please. This isn't the   
time."

Paul just looked at him and Daniel had to stop himself from shivering. That look was   
cold, freezing him in his place. But Paul didn't push, merely nodded. He put one hand   
over Daniel's and gently freed it from his shoulder. "Dr. Jackson," he said softly and   
moved to leave the trailer.

Daniel couldn't let him leave like that. "Paul!"

He turned and looked first at Jack, then at Daniel. "I'm sorry, Daniel. I really am." And   
then he was gone.

Jack cocked his head to one side but Daniel didn't answer the unspoken question. It was   
really finally over. Anything he had with Paul was just gone.

"Daniel, we have to go."

Right, there was no time to think about this. Hell, he should have thought about it 10   
months ago before hopping into bed with Jack. Daniel turned and met Jack's dark eyed   
gaze and knew he'd do it again, in a heartbeat. "Right, let's go."

***

Sam frowned as she saw Jack guide Daniel towards them. There was nothing she could   
say, really. Jack had come home to her trailer last night, but he had grabbed his pillow   
and made a neat little pallet on the floor.

Frustrated, she had rolled over in the double bed and said, "Jack, we're both reasonable   
adults here. I'm sure we can share the same bed and not be a problem."

"It wouldn't be right," he had said quietly from the floor and she had hated that she   
couldn't see his eyes, couldn't judge what exactly he was thinking.

Now, as she readied her weapon - a newer semi-automatic that was safer and more   
efficient - Sam realized nothing she did now could save their marriage. Jack had made   
his choice. And she needed to do her job and stop thinking about this.

"Ready to go, Sam?" Daniel said with forced cheerfulness as he approached their group.

It might be a lot easier if Daniel hasn't been put on her team. She and Jack couldn't serve   
together, and he had been placed on Team B. Team B would go through the front door,   
attempt to draw the attention of whatever being was taunting them with this show. Team   
A, with both Sam and Daniel included, would enter Cheyenne Mountain from one of the   
exhaust tunnels that ran to the surface. They, hopefully, would be able to engage the   
Stargate and stop whatever was causing the shifts in time.

Before she could answer Daniel, Jack stepped into her space. He put his hand on her   
waist, surprising her, and pulled her into a quick embrace. "Be careful in there," he   
murmured into her ear.

She swallowed as he pulled away. "I will," she promised. He nodded and then turned to   
Daniel, putting his hand on his lover's shoulder.

"You too."

God, Jack did love them both. It was hard to see that suddenly. It didn't make her feel any   
better or worse, instead it merely confused her even more. Sam didn't know what to   
think.

***

Daniel didn't know when things went so wrong. One moment he was following Sam,   
both of them flanked by the other members of Team A, creeping down the abandoned   
corridors of the SGC. The next, they were scattered, running through the halls from an   
unknown something that instilled a torrent of fear in them all.

He dove into an open doorway and spun around, keeping his gun trailed on the hallway.   
He still couldn't remember what they were running from.

"Be careful with that coverstone…."

Daniel froze and turned around. He was no longer in the SGC, apparently one of the   
shifts in time had taken him back to one of the worst moments in his childhood. God, he   
didn't want to watch this again.

"It's swinging."

"It's okay, it's fine, we'll be fine."

No, they wouldn't be.

***

Sam knew something was wrong, her head felt clouded as she walked the deserted   
corridors of the SGC. Her heart beat louder in her chest as she took each step, almost as if   
she knew she about to face something horrific. She slowly got closer to a door at the end   
of the hallway.

As her hand reached out to touch the doorknob, Sam realized how wrong it was that there   
was a doorknob. This door should slide open under a card reader. Instead, she twisted the   
knob and pushed the door open.

And nearly cried out as she stepped into someplace as familiar to her as her own home,   
Jack's grandfather's cabin in Minnesota. She wondered if she had moved in time as well   
as space.

Sounds of soft gasps and moans caught her ears. Sam walked towards the sounds, finding   
herself moving towards the master bedroom, where she and Jack had spent many a   
vacation together, the very place where their son had been conceived. She smiled at the   
memory, her hand reaching for the doorknob, as if in a dream.

The door opened slightly at her touch, enough for her to catch a glimpse of the interior of   
the room. She placed her hand over her mouth in shock, as she got a perfect of view of   
Daniel straddling her husband. Both men were nude and the way Daniel was moving. Oh,   
God, was he… Jack had his hands around Daniel's waist, guiding his movement. Jack's   
eyes were focused only on Daniel and he hadn't realized she was at the door.

She froze, because she knew that look on Jack's face. It was the same as when they made   
love, an expression of total love and affection, only apparent in moments of intimacy.   
Seeing it now, as Daniel writhed over him put things in perspective.

"You could go in there and stop them. Take your husband back," a silky voice whispered   
in her ear.

She whirled around, but there was no one there. Sam stepped back, then ran through the   
living room and through the still open door and back into the SGC. Alarms were going   
off, indicating an incoming traveler. Whatever time she had stepped into, the action   
would be in the Gate room. She took off in that direction, letting herself focus on that   
instead of what she had just witnessed.

***

Daniel faced the creature, trying his best to ignore the screams behind him. The scene   
would only reset itself before it began to play again. "Who are you?" he demanded. "Why   
are you doing this?"

"Come now, Dr. Jackson, I thought you'd want to figure it out on your own, rather than   
just hearing it all from me."

It might have been better if he could see the thing. But the more he looked, the less he   
could make out. "Humor me," he said. "And while you're at it, could we get the hell out   
of here?"

"Oh, does this bother you?"

Daniel bit his lip to keep from answering.

The being waved what appeared to be an arm and Daniel blinked. They now stood in the   
SGC's briefing room and he was glad of the change of scenery. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." The being sat in the head seat, leaning back and crossing his legs on   
top of the table.

Daniel remained standing. "I believe you were going to tell me who you were?"

"Who, what? Who knows really…?" the form solidified a bit, revealing sharp masculine   
features, then blurred away again. Daniel glared at him and the being smiled. "You are a   
student of mythology, Dr. Jackson. You know that every pantheon of every Tau'ri   
religion has some sort of Trickster God, from Loki to Coyote to the Monkey King."

"That's true, to a certain extent," Daniel said.

"And you've learned that all mythology has some basis in fact. I am the Trickster God,   
Daniel Jackson. All stories come from me."

"Are you saying you're some kind of Goa'uld?" Daniel asked, puzzled and trying to buy   
for time.

The being laughed. "You know very well there are no Goa'uld anymore. To compare me   
to them is almost insulting."

"Then what are you?"

"I told you, I am a god, or, rather, more than a god. I exist in the subconscious of every   
race. I've lived before time and I shall be here until time ends."

Great, this was all he needed, another alien megalomaniac. Daniel's hand twitched and he   
wondered if he could somehow signal Sam or the rest of his team without letting this, this   
Trickster know. "Then why the hell are you here?"

Trickster smiled, a smile that split across the entire blurred portion of its head, giving it   
the impression of a mobile skull. "I'm bored."

***

The doors to the Gate room opened as Sam approached and she ran past them, skidding   
to a stop at the sight of the Gate dialing in and Jack standing at the foot of the ramp.

"Jack!" she called, wondering why he was here and not at the entrance to the mountain,   
like Team B was supposed to be.

He turned and gave her a funny look. "Carter?"

Not again, this wasn't her Jack. She had shifted in time. However, why weren't there any   
SF's in the Gate room? She looked up at the control room and could see no one there.   
"Jack," she stepped forward, then corrected herself. "Colonel." It was so hard to say after   
so long. "This is going to sound strange, but I'm not your Sam Carter."

"Huh?" One confused eyebrow went up.

Before she could explain further, the wormhole engaged on the Stargate. A single figure   
ventured through the event horizon. Teal'c.

Her heart caught in her throat. Damn, it was so good to see him after all this time. "Oh,   
my god, Teal'c!"

"Major Carter?" he inclined his head to one side as she ran and reached out to embrace   
him. His words stopped her.

"Damn, Carter, he's only been gone a day," Jack grumbled behind her.

She shook her head as she stepped away from Teal'c, slightly embarrassed at letting her   
emotions take over her like that. "You have to listen to me. I'm from about ten years in   
the future."

Teal'c and Jack exchanged looks. "And you just stumbled into the Mountain with that   
story?"

"In my time the SGC's been evacuated because of the malfunction in the Stargate." She   
tried to explain. "It's been opening pockets in time throughout the mountain. That was   
how I got here."

"Have you told Hammond about this?"

She sighed in frustration. "Look around you, Jack. The room is empty. There's no one in   
the control room. You have been displaced in time just as I have."

He made that face at her. "So what were you planning on doing about it?"

"Daniel and I brought a team in to run tests on the 'gate before we were separated…"   
Before she had finished speaking, Jack had raised his P90 and trailed it on her. "Jack?   
What?"

"Daniel Jackson is dead," Jack growled, "Therefore, you can't be from the future. Teal'c,   
grab her weapon. I don't know who the hell you are, but you're going to tell me what's   
really going on here. Where are the SF's? What have you done with the General?"

What the hell? This confounded her. She racked her brain, trying to remember a time   
when Daniel was presumed dead. The only two times that came to mind were from   
before she had become a Major, so it couldn't be applicable now. "I'm telling you the   
truth." She let Teal'c take her weapon and stared Jack down.

"Actually, she is telling the truth," a soft voice from behind them interrupted.

Sam moved slightly to see. Both Jack and Teal'c gasped. Daniel stood in the center of the   
inactive Stargate, dressed in a cream sweater. He gave off a bright light, nearly glowing.   
As he walked down the ramp, his footfalls didn't make a sound. Again, this wasn't the   
Daniel from her time. But Sam was hard pressed to say exactly what was happening.

"Daniel?" Jack whispered, his eyes widening in shock. He reached out to touch and his   
hand went right through Daniel's arm.

"What are you? Some kind of ghost?" Sam murmured.

He shook his head. "Have you ever met any kind of Ascended being in your universe?"

"Universe?" she and Jack said at the same time.

She looked at Jack then turned her attention back to Daniel. "Of course, Orlin and Oma   
Desala. But what do you mean, my universe? I thought we were only experiencing shifts   
in space and time."

"Not entirely. This isn't some malfunction of the Stargate. This is the result of a   
malevolent being who is trying to merge two separate universes together."

"How do you know that?"

"Because he's telling me this right now."

***

Jack tried raising Team A on his radio, but got only static in response. Dammit. He and   
Team B were supposed to be back up, but so far, they couldn't even find the first team.

"Sir, what do we do?" Hailey asked.

"We go to the Gate Room," Jack answered. All this trouble originated with the Stargate,   
it was the only place they could go. He marched toward one of the set of ladders that   
connected various floors; he would not play into the hands of whatever was doing this by   
taking the elevator.

The rest of the team followed and Jack pulled open the door. "What the…?" he began,   
about to step back, but he wasn't in the SGC any longer. He was in a very familiar house,   
his own home, over twenty years ago now.

"God," he whispered, walking into a living room he could barely remember. It was more   
than another lifetime ago. He physically recoiled when he heard the gunshot and knew   
exactly where he was. God, no, not again, he couldn't be too late again. He ran up the   
stairs, knowing what he would find when he opened the door. Still he could not stop   
himself from reaching out and grabbing the knob.

And tumbled directly into the Gate room. "Oh, for crying out loud!"

***

"So just because you're bored you're messing with the lives of millions…billions of   
people?" Daniel sputtered. It seemed the distortions that they were experiencing were just   
the beginnings of this thing's plan.

"I'm starting small," Trickster said. It moved until it was gazing out of the observation   
windows into the Gate room. "With only four lives at first."

"The time distortions," Daniel realized in shock. "That was just a ruse to get us here."

"And you were so very quick about it. Thank the efficiency of your government for me,   
would you?"

Daniel ran to the observation window, wanting to know suddenly what had Trickster so   
enthralled. "God." It was SG-1, including Teal'c and his own double.

"First I've experimented with a variation, as you can see. A mix from different universes.   
But what would happen, I wonder, if a pair of doubles met?"

"What are you planning?" Daniel murmured.

"Your Sam Carter hypothesizes that two molecularly exact beings cannot exist in the   
same space, the same universe. What if I change that little principle?"

The blast doors opened and another Jack O'Neill nearly fell into the room. Daniel read his   
lips and quirked a smile. Then, all serious once again, he whirled on Trickster. "What the   
hell are you doing?"

"Watch."

***

Sam wondered if this new Jack to enter the Gate room was hers. Maybe he could clear up   
exactly what this other Daniel was talking about. "Jack?" she ventured.

"Sam?" he replied, keeping his weapon trailed on her as well as the rest of the alternate   
SG-1. "You've any idea what the hell is going on here? Oh, hey, Teal'c, good to see you."

Teal'c inclined his head to one side.

"Apparently we've been tricked by some kind of interstellar entity," she explained,   
"Who's been playing around with basic principles of time and space across different   
universes."

"Sweet." Both Jacks said that at the same time and they glared at each other.

It would almost be funny, really, except for the situation. She shook her head and turned   
to ask this other Daniel what they could do to fight this being and stop the shifts in   
reality. Before she could open her mouth she heard a yelp from Jack and whirled around.

The two Jacks were sliding across the floor, barreling towards each other like two   
magnets. They collided with a flash of light. When Sam could see again, there was only   
one Jack, unconscious on the floor. She ran to kneel by his side and slapped his cheek   
gently. "Jack? Jack!"

Jack opened his eyes and tried to fix his unfocused gaze on her. "Carter? I mean, Sam?   
I…" he looked around, as if trying to figure out where he was.

"Jack," the other Daniel knelt beside them. "Are you all right?"

"Danny?"

"Jack, focus," Daniel said. "I'm here, I'm real."

"You died, Daniel," then Jack frowned. "No, no, you went away. Because I couldn't   
admit how I felt, you left…"

"Jack," he murmured, reaching out with one hand, then pulled it back sharply. Jack   
reached out to grab it, and his hands went right through Daniel like the mirage he was.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked Daniel, because Daniel knew. When he leveled   
troubled eyes at her, Sam held her breath.

"He's both Jack's. Trickster has succeeded in merging them together." Daniel said.

Ok, now that violated several laws of physics. "That's impossible," she protested.

"Haven't you seen enough of the impossible by now?" a voice said from behind them   
both.

Sam grabbed Jack's weapon and leveled it at the being that appeared. Like this other   
Daniel, he glowed with a soft light, yet she couldn't quite make out its features.

"By all means, Samantha Carter, shoot me." He spread his arms wide. "You'll only hit   
your Daniel."

And Daniel came into view, edging away from the creature. "Are you ok, Sam?"

She nodded, not taking her eyes off of, what did the alternate Daniel call him? Trickster.   
"How are you doing this?"

"You have no concept of my power."

"Again with the clichés," Jack groused behind her. "Has every Goa'uld seen Star Wars?"

"He's not a Goa'uld," the other Daniel said. "He's like me, an Ascended being. One of the   
Ancients."

"You are nothing like me, child. You don't even know how to use your power. It doesn't   
matter, really. In a few moments, you'll be flesh and blood, merged with your counterpart   
from this universe."

"Wait," Sam cried, trying to distract the being, "Why are you doing this?"

"After 100 thousand years, you too would be bored, Major Carter." He laughed.

Apparently her distraction worked, because the other Daniel had called some kind of   
power to his hands and was firing bolts of energy at Trickster.

Trickster continued to laugh, as he raised his hand. The energy reflected back at Daniel,   
lifting the man into the air. His form began to stretch and distort and he screamed. Even   
without a physical body, he could apparently still feel pain. Sam dove to the ground with   
the solid Daniel, trying to stay out of the firefight. There was no telling what that energy   
would do to an organic body.

"Sam! What do we do?" Daniel cried in frustration.

"Shoot him!" Jack shouted and she did, firing the weapon at Trickster. A barrage of   
bullets passed right through him and into the wall on the other side. Frustrated, she   
grabbed her 'zat and tried firing that instead, but the electricity seemed to have no effect.

The other Daniel continued to writhe in the ball of light, nearly losing his form. To her   
shock, her Daniel rose into the air, limbs extended and stiff. Soon they would be joined   
together as well. "No!"

Then she noticed Teal'c, still on the ramp to the Stargate. How had she forgotten about   
him? He spun out his staff weapon, opened the blast point and discharged a bolt of   
energy right through Trickster.

A hole gaped in the being's side, Sam could see right through it. Trickster stumbled back.   
Daniel fell back to the floor beside her and the swirling balls of energy above them   
dissipated. The other Daniel slipped to the floor and then through it, before he regained   
some control of his form again.

"What, what is this? What have you done?" Trickster twirled, but he was rapidly losing   
solid form, his body crumbling into nothingness.

Teal'c held out his hand, calling into a ball of bright light the remnants of Trickster.

"Thank you, Teal'c," the alternate Daniel said breathlessly. How could he do that if he   
didn't have any breath? Sam wondered.

"How did you do that?" she asked.

Teal'c looked at her, his dark eyes almost soft. "Like Daniel Jackson, I too am an   
Ascended Being."

"I was the decoy," Daniel explained, "Trickster was supposed to think I was the threat, so   
he'd attack me and be vulnerable to Teal'c."

Jack stood up shakily and she took his arm to support him. "It's almost a joke," he said,   
"How do you fight a trickster god? You trick him."

"Yes, Jack." The other Daniel stepped forward and reached inside Jack somehow. Sam   
moved back and watched in awe as the other Jack simply stepped out of hers. Thank God   
they were back to normal.

"That was weird," the other Jack said.

She turned to Teal'c, "Can you get back to your universe with your own power?"

"I can do that," the glowing Daniel interrupted. "But this Teal'c isn't from my universe."

"What?"

Teal'c nearly smiled at her. "I am your Teal'c, Samantha Carter. I have been watching the   
activities of this Trickster for some time. When the creature began his plan and brought   
forward the Alternate SG-1, I colluded with Daniel Jackson in order to stop him."

"Wait," Daniel stepped forward, "You're our Teal'c? You became an Ascended Being?"

"Why didn't you tell us?" Sam asked. She had missed him for so long, and now it seemed   
he was there all along.

"I could not, my path does not allow me to interfere with your daily lives." Teal'c looked   
pointedly at Daniel. "Though I attempted to influence you by other means."

"The dreams," Daniel murmured.

"Dreams?" she repeated.

The other Daniel gestured and the event horizon appeared in the center of the Stargate,   
without it's usual 'kawoosh'. "We have to go now, we can't stay in this universe much   
longer. Thank you for your help," this he addressed to Teal'c. "Jack?"

And the other Jack stepped up to the ramp beside him. He waved. "Take care kids, can't   
say it was fun."

"Yeah sure, you betcha," her Jack grumbled beside her.

They watched the alternate pair leave and stood in silence for a moment, all of SG-1   
together for the first time in over ten years. "So, T," Jack began, scratching his head. He   
still looked a bit confused. "Why don' t you stick around for a while?"

"I cannot, O'Neill." Teal'c look sad as he spoke. "I was only able to interfere because   
Trickster was an Ascended. He will be dealt with."

"Not even for a visit?" Daniel put in wistfully.

Teal'c smiled. "Perhaps I will surprise you, Daniel Jackson."

Sam stepped forward. She wished she could hug Teal'c, could say a proper goodbye to   
him, but she knew she wouldn't be able to touch him. "Please take care of yourself,   
Teal'c. We miss you."

"I know," he said softly. "I ask that you do the same, Samantha. I will be there if I am   
truly needed."

Teal'c didn't say goodbye, he simply vanished. She swallowed, it had been good to see   
him, but it did hurt when he left. Somehow it was better to know he was out there in the   
universe, doing some good and watching over them.

Sam clicked her radio. "Colonel Terrance? This is Major Carter."

"Carter! What happened? Where are you?" Terrance's voice came through.

"We're in the Gate room." She corrected herself, "Colonel O'Neill, Dr. Jackson and I are   
in the Gate room. Are Team's A and B all right?"

The colonel chuckled, "We are now. We'll rendezvous with you in six. Terrance out."

Sam let go of her radio and moved to where Daniel was quietly speaking to Jack.   
"They're on their way. Who knows what was going on out there while we were in here,"   
she gestured towards the Stargate.

"Yeah," Daniel said, his eyes shadowed. She wondered what he was thinking.

She felt badly, realizing her friendship with Daniel was tattered without hope of repair at   
the moment. Seeing Teal'c again had reminded her of how it was when they were all   
together, SG-1 relying on each other. But like Teal'c she had moved on, made a new life   
for herself outside of being "Major Carter of SG-1." She was a mother, a woman with a   
lucrative career where she could still make a difference in the world.

As if her eyes were pried open, Sam realized Jack and Daniel had never moved on, never   
restructured their identities with their new lives. This entire adventure made that suddenly   
clear to her. Jack was living with the desires of his past. She hoped it made him happy.

With that, her decision was made. Janet had been right, was it only a few days ago? Jack   
had left it in her hands. She could force the issue, demand Jack come back to her, be her   
husband again. But Sam wasn't willing to walk the hallways of her past again.

She wasn't angry any more, not really. Just sad, and a bit melancholic. She placed her   
hand on Daniel's shoulder, surprising him. "I don't blame you," she murmured, just as the   
blast doors opened, revealing the combined Teams A and B.

"Sam," he whispered, before the others took her attention. "Thank you."

She nodded and walked away from both Jack and Daniel.


End file.
